To be "trapped" in my own clothes?

[Gillz9874]

I occasionally ask DH to "zip me up" or help with some item of clothing as I'm sure everyone does

Lately this has been a bit more regular as I have a dress in the rotation for work that I really can't do by myself. The sleeves are a bit tight and I just can't get my arms round to the top of the zip on the back at all.

It's never a problem for me - he zips up in the morning and unzips when I get home.

BUT the girls at work are shocked I'm willing to "be trapped in your own clothes" and agreed they wouldn't wear it!

Am I the strange one? Anybody else wear something they get a hand with?

Couldn't you sew a short piece of ribbon onto the zip so its easier to reach and you can dress yourself?

What if you needed to go to a conference away, or OH isn't home when you want to be undressed?

YABU - what if your husband gets fed up and one day you got trapped in them forever and had to wear the same outfit for the rest of your life, it doesn’t bare thinking about

You are not strange the girls at work are. What is wrong with having assistance to get in/out of clothes. I'm sure if you were desperate and your life depended on it you could cut your way out if DH wasn't around to save you

Could you use something like this for the times when your dh is unable to help zip you up? www.amazon.co.uk/Zipper-Assistant-Dressing-Aid-Clothing/dp/B01LXNA4Q2?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Sounds like your dh has the job of a ladies maid. Why wouldn't you just wear clothes you can get in and out of yourself?

Can't see a major problem with this and think your work colleagues are over reacting ridiculously.

I can’t do most of my dresses up by myself 🤔

How friendly are you with your neighbours? Imagine something happening to your DH and you've got to around the street asking them to undress you

For a night out i would, but not everyday. I'm a PJ as-soon-as-i-get-in person, though.

I don't own anything i can't do myself... but it's never occurred to me that this would even be a category of clothing nowadays, except for performers. But i doubt i would state a preference to you against clothes you can't put on by yourself, you have a system that works for you.

Having once spent 20 minutes in a changing room in an increasing panic that I was stuck forever it’s a rule that if I can’t do it up/undo it myself I don’t buy it

I’d had to wear anything I couldn’t get out of by myself, it’d make me feel claustrophobic. Btw, not “everyone” need help getting dressed, by any stretch of the imagination.

@TwoZeroTwoZero had the perfect solution.
Its not the dress thing that caught my attention in your post but the phrase
"It's never a problem for me...BUT the girls at work are shocked" The implied adverse group judgement on something so simple as an issue with wearing a particular dress is a bit worrying frankly..
Who are they to approve/disapprove in a group setting and be "shocked" about your relationship?
I'd be a lot less forthcoming to this group if I were you. Too much information to them.

I am completely shocked at the idea of not being able to dress yourself. (Unless disability prevents it of course). Staggered that an adult independent woman would ask to be zipped up by her husband! I have not had help dressing since I was about five years old.

(It was also one of those coy helpless little woman ploys that was once so common so I eschewed it along with unequal pay and being called "darling" by my boss!. Imagine if men asked women to do up their flies for them!!)

I know I'll get flamed for this - - I seem out of step with so many people!

I can do up/undo all of my clothes. If you can’t (even after some wriggling) that’s a sign that your clothes don’t fit.

I get flare ups of arthritis in my hands, and when they are at their worst, I basically can't use my thumbs. So can't do up zips in the back of dresses, can't fasten my bra, fasten buttons on my trousers, tie shoelaces. Husbands (or other people you're friendly with) are a good substitute for working thumbs in this instance 🤣

I had to cut a work colleague out of her trousers once
She was desperate for the loo and the zip stuck. They were really nice trousers and I was hesitant. She thrust a pair of large scissors at me and screamed at me to do it.
Stapled her up to get through the rest of the day.....

It's not that you are out of step @inthesummerhouse it's that you are being judgy about a person's personality based on a choice on an item of clothing.

I'm practically a poster child for strong independent woman , most people who know me would laugh their heads off at the thought I was remotely coy. However I have a dress that I love that is tricky to do up on my own and I ask my partner to help.

It's just a clothing choice and I find it amazing that yet again your group of women at work OP and some pp on here have found a way to judge others on....amazing isn't it ? I've spent my working life battling sexism and judgemental attitudes and it's been 50 percent men doing it and 50 percent women.

Why in actual hell can we not please leave other women alone to make the sartorial choices they use ?

When I had a frozen shoulder I had to ask for help with doing things up.

You've said that the sleeves are too tight. Maybe the dress isn't really the right size for you if you can't lift your arms high enough.

I've got a dress which is a little tricky when I'm pissed sadly no man to help me out of it, so it stays in the wardrobe till I've forgotten why I don't wear it much.

Jane Fonda

Plenty of items like that and jewellery. I've had to become quite inventive since I got divorced.
I often used to get stuck in my motorcycle jacket, once it took three nurses and a doctor to pull it off over my head when the zip stuck and my top and bra all came off while they all laughed.
I still go red thinking about it now.

I don't know if YABU or not but you made me laugh!

Could you focus on developing a bit more flexibility? Surely everyone should be able to reach the top of their own zip?

I once slept in a dress as I needed DH to un zip me and he was away that night.

Basically was going out with the girls, I wanted to wear my favourite dress, DH zipped me in but he was going away for the night so he wasn’t there when I got home...so I slept in it 🤷🏻‍♀️

I wouldn't wear clothing I couldn't do up because I once got stuck in a dress in the house by myself and had some kind of emotional meltdown trying to fight my way out of it. I can only describe it as a near-death experience that went on for at least 700 hours and that is a good enough reason not to wear stuff I can't get in and out of early.

You put a piece of ribbon through a safety pin, attach the safety pin to the zipper and use the ribbon to pull the zipper down.

If I couldn’t do something up myself in the changing room id never have bought it. I have some dresses that I have to wriggle up to reach the zip then wriggle back down but none I can’t do at all.